Re: unexpected fry....

[NetMax]

"jduprie" > wrote in message
news:IkIMa.21570$Xm3.3969@sccrnsc02...
> Well, the 2 randomly selected black convicts I got a couple of months
ago
> apparently are a mating pair now. Got a bunch of itty bitty swimmers
hanging
> out under them.
>
> The parents got fairly aggressive a couple of weeks ago, moved to a new
area
> of the tank, and chased all theother fish away. this morning, the
babies
> showed up....
>
> tank is a 125, lightly planted, but lots of rocky hiding places. Fairly
> random assortment of fish (those will *never* survive together says the
fish
> store guy) - the chichlids, couple gouramis, some guppies, mollies,
tetras,
> coryadoris, coupla snails. You know, generic fresh water type tank.
>
> It'll be interesting to see how many of the spawn survive.....
>
> --JD

The stuff you can get away with when you have a big tank, is probably
beyond the fish store guy's experience. I'd wager that more of those
Convicts than you would like will reach full maturity ;~)

I have 6 bright red Platys in my 120g African cichlid tank. Eventually
someone (probably the Frontosas) will realize they are a snack food, but
until then, everyone gets along fine. I have to feed 4 types/sizes of
food (3 daily), so it's high maintenance, but as long as everyone gets
fed properly, they are all willing to share the tank.

If you can provide a varied diet, in a large tank with a variety of
conditions (rockwork, plant density etc), you will be amazed at what you
can keep together. However, I can think of no other cichlid which would
tip the tank's equilibrium in their favour, as quickly and as surely as
Convicts will. You might be able to slow their conquest of your tank, by
pitching the aquarium into complete darkness when the fry are free
swimming. The turbulence from the filtration system interferes with the
parents ability to herd the fry, so they will wander, and in complete
darkness, the Mollies will be waiting for them.

NetMax

[jduprie]

NetMax Sez:
*major snippage*

>Convicts will. You might be able to slow their conquest of your tank, by
> pitching the aquarium into complete darkness when the fry are free
> swimming. The turbulence from the filtration system interferes with the
> parents ability to herd the fry, so they will wander, and in complete
> darkness, the Mollies will be waiting for them.
>
> NetMax


there is actually very little turbulence. I've got an eheim set up, but the
spray bar is positioned so that it points up and back towards the side of
the tank. that end has a bit, but the rest of the tank gets its circulation
from the undergravel filter. Very slow, slight circulation.

The tank is set up with a couple of different environments: one corner has a
jumble of medium sized rocks (lots of caves). the nearest corner to that is
heavily planted. The rocks do a slow fade across the tank, witha couple of
"outcroppings", and a couple of clumps of barnacle shells (left over from
my marine days). The plants are in clumps across the tank - some tall, some
short, and the side farthest from the "caves" and "forest" is pretty much
clear gravel.

The convicts have definitely set up residence in the low/medium plants/rocks
section. The rest of teh fish seem to pretty much wander. The corys *may*
prefer the semi open gravel, or they may just like that particular spot -
there is a spot where they seem to rest - its a little patch of clear
gravel surrounded by low rocks and plants....

A couple of the smaller sword tails seem to like to hang out on the top of
the UG filter tube - but they may just be hiding - there's only about 1/2
inch of water above the top, and they're about 1/4" tall, so its a perfect
hiding place for them.....


thanks

-JD